1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an operator's seat for heavy equipment having optimized switch arrangements for controlling the equipment, in which various kinds of switches that are frequently operated by an operator sitting in the operator's seat are arranged in closest proximity to a control lever within a range in which the switches do not interfere with the control lever in operation, and thus physical inconvenience and fatigue that the operator who operates the corresponding switches for a long time suffers can be reduced.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an operator's seat for heavy equipment having optimized switch arrangements for controlling the equipment, in which arrangements of various kinds of switches and components of operating devices that are frequently used by an operator in the seat due to the characteristic of the equipment are integrated within a radius that an operator's hand reaches (i.e. in a hand arm operation zone), and thus physical inconvenience and fatigue that the operator who repeatedly operates working devices for a long time suffers can be reduced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As illustrated in FIG. 1, according to a conventional operator's seat for heavy equipment, an ash tray 3 is detachably installed on a front surface of a console box 2 on which a control lever 1, and a cup holder 6 for receiving a beverage container (e.g., a soda can, a water bottle, or the like) is installed on a side panel 5 of a cab.
An engine RPM mode switch 7 and various kinds of operating switches 8 are installed on the side panel 5, and a display mode switch 9 and an instrument cluster 10 are installed on the console box 2.
The cup holder 6, which is arranged in front of the control lever 1, is positioned outside a hand arm operation zone (which is a zone where operator's arm and hand are situated when an operator extends his/her arm to operate the above-described switches).
Accordingly, if the operator who sits in the seat extends his/her arm to pick up a soda can placed in the cup holder 6, a part of the operator's body may touch the control lever 1 and so on through the operator's carelessness, and this may cause a corresponding working device to operate contrary to the operator's intention.
In addition, since the display mode switch 9 and the instrument cluster 10 are arranged in a body on the console box 2, the operator sitting in the seat 4 should lower his/her head to confirm and operate the display mode switch 9 and the instrument cluster 10 whenever he/she changes a working mode of the equipment.
Specifically, due to the conventional switch arrangements and the characteristic of the equipment that repeats the same work for a long time, the operator should repeatedly operate the corresponding switches of the equipment with feeling of physical inconvenience, and this causes the operator fatigue to be increased and the working efficiency to be lowered.